What to Look for in a Teacher Education Program

To become a great teacher, it helps to have a great education. Choosing a great teacher education program certainly helps. If you’re wondering what to look for in a teacher education program, check out these 6 things that other teacher candidates appreciate from their programs.

Technology Education

Technology is constantly evolving. Because of this, it can be difficult to know the latest and greatest . On top of that, you need to know how to use it effectively. A great teacher education program should discuss classroom technology and demonstrate ways for you to use it. You want to feel comfortable using it in your classroom to boost your lessons.

Data Analysis Education

Teacher education programs aim to prepare teacher candidates to write lesson plans, handle classroom management issues, assess students, and more. However, they don’t always prepare you to . Teachers need to be able to show how well their students are doing. An effective teacher education program would cover data analysis to help teacher candidates know how to prove their effectiveness.

Teacher Observation Time

Rather than just hearing about what makes a great teacher, it’s helpful to get the opportunity to observe good teachers in action. See what effective teachers do to keep their students engaged. Teacher education programs should provide plenty of opportunities to do this. Otherwise, it’s helpful to reach out to teachers on your own.

Plenty of Teaching Time

Your first experience teaching in front of a real class shouldn’t be on your first day of student teaching. Why? Because a quality teacher education program should have lots of opportunities to practice. Find out what courses you need to take and whether or not they’ll allow you to practice teaching students nearby. To do this, some teacher education programs team up with school districts in the area.

Specific Instruction

Will the teacher education program provide you with a broad, general education? Or, will you receive specific instruction on how to teach specific subjects and topics? Along with specific instruction, it’s helpful to have plenty of experience writing lesson plans.

Community Outreach

Many aspiring teachers don’t want to just teach students. They want to transform lives. Many teacher education programs are preparing their teacher candidates to do this by adding community outreach to the program. This allows teacher candidates to learn ways to impact the community in which their students live, too.

What teacher education program do you want to attend? Do some research to find out if it has all the things you want out of a teacher education program. Find one that you truly believe will help you become the best teacher you can be.

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About Jamie Goodwin

Jamie graduated from Brigham Young University- Idaho with a degree in English Education. She spent several years teaching and tutoring students at the elementary, high school, and college level. She currently works as a contract writer and curriculum developer for online education courses. In her free time, she enjoys running and spending time with her boys!

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